Louisiana-Monroe is beginning preseason practice with offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez serving as interim head coach while Terry Bowden is with family as his father's health declines, according to the Monroe-News Star. The news comes after the Bowden family revealed last month that Bobby Bowden, a pillar of Florida State football history, is dealing with a terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
Terry Bowden, 65, is one of Bobby Bowden's six children, including three who followed their father into college coaching. He accepted the Louisiana-Monroe job in December after serving as head coach of Akron from 2012-18 and as a Clemson graduate assistant the past two seasons.
Bobby Bowden still resides in Tallahassee, Florida, after coaching the Seminoles to a 304-97-4 record as coach from 1976 to 2009. He guided FSU to 12 ACC titles and two national championships. Bowden, 91, fought through a COVID-19 diagnosis last year that resulted in his hospitalization. His bout with the coronavirus followed other recent hospitalizations for a calf infection and pneumonia.
Terry Bowden said at Sun Belt Media Days last month that his father's pancreatic cancer diagnosis meant, "you're probably talking months, not years, so we know that."
Rodriguez is the former coach at West Virginia and Arizona, and has had a longstanding relationship with the Bowden family.
"It's going to be a seamless transition," Rodriguez told the News-Star. "I've got a lot of experience doing it, but I know what he wants and having gone through a spring that makes it easier. Our guys understand how the practice schedule will go and obviously the intensity and urgency to get ready is a lot more now."
